Elvis Smylie and Jon Rahm recalled Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton this Saturday in Riyadh. Every birdie was a braking rush. Every shot was an open DRS. Every putt was an inside corner at 300 kilometres per hour. The final day of the LIV Golf Riyadh, the first tournament of the Saudi league season, has been a sensational battle.
And it has been mainly because Jon insisted on making it so. Smylie played video game golf. He was the reincarnation of Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus in one player. He hit one great shot after another. He kept leaving himself birdie chances one after another. He didn’t make a single mistake. No, it’s not an exaggeration. He didn’t make a single mistake. In fact, the only one, if any, was missing a fairly easy birdie putt on the 15th hole.
Smylie was a powerhouse, a golfer who was absolutely unassailable for any mortal today. And this is where Jon put on his extraterrestrial suit again. He didn’t win, true. It’s been a season and a tournament without lifting an individual trophy in LIV, but today there can be no complaints. On the contrary, only his unbreakable faith, that non-transferable ambition, the maxim that has accompanied him since he was knee-high that as long as there are holes, anything can happen… All of that is what brought excitement to the tournament’s outcome.
Rahm’s finish was exceptional. After saving a delicate par on the 12th hole, sinking one of those putts that only champions make, signing an epic recovery from the desert, he activated destroyer mode. He made five birdies in the last six holes, putting for eagle on the last, and let Smylie know something that, as a newcomer to the league, he might not have known: to win in LIV, you first have to beat him.
What seemed like a triumphant stroll for the Australian debutant turned into a nerve-wracking two-putt from 25 metres. That’s what he had to do to avoid a playoff against a proud Rahm waiting with crossed arms at the foot of the 18th green.
But it was Smylie’s day. Video game mode. His first putt was stratospheric. He left it less than a metre away, impressive, and made par to secure his first win with a one-shot lead over Rahm. The 23-year-old left-hander wins in LIV on his first attempt, something quite common, by the way, gets into the PGA Championship and opens the doors to the Masters, although he will still have to play very well until April to walk Magnolia Lane.
Smylie (-24) won with a final card of 64 strokes, or in other words, eight under par. That is, you start as the tournament leader, shoot eight under, and still suffer to sink a final putt to win the tournament by one. That’s what Rahm causes, who shot 63, nine under. A display. Jon showed a killer version that hadn’t been seen for a while. A great start to the year for the man from Barrika, who will move to around 65th in the world ranking.
In third place finished Peter Uihlein (-21), the first of the mortals, while the fourth place was shared by David Puig (-20), Abraham Ancer (-20), and Thomas Pieters (-20). Special mention for Puig. He keeps going. Amazing. He was third in the Dubai Invitational, seventh in the Desert Classic with a cruel final penalty in the bunker, and now signs a fourth place to start in LIV. The first victory in this circuit is imminent. It’s only a matter of time. In fact, he has already earned a place in the club presided over by Jon Rahm, whose motto says: to win a tournament in LIV Golf, you first have to beat me.
With this result, Puig practically guarantees his presence in the PGA Championship and keeps the hope of getting into the Masters via the world top 50 very much alive. Today he shot 65, with five birdies and a galactic eagle on the 13th hole. He displayed a very high level of golf. A pity about the chip on the 18th that fell short and prevented him from getting a birdie that would have given him several more world ranking points. In any case, another great week for the young man from La Garriga, just a few months older than Smylie.
In the team classification, victory for Cameron Smith’s Australians, after a nice tussle with Joaco Niemann’s Torque. The Spanish Fireballs and Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII shared fourth place.
